Markey throws shade at Kennedy family in Senate primary brawl

[brooklynite]

Politico

BOSTON — Sen. Ed Markey is going where few Massachusetts Democrats have dared to go before. He’s not only attacking his challenger, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, he’s throwing shade at the Kennedy family, the state’s equivalent of political royalty.

In an ever more contentious battle between a septuagenarian senator and the scion of one of the nation’s best-known dynasties, Markey is calling out specific Kennedy family members by name, needling the wealth and privilege that attaches to the family name, and even drawing from the Kennedy myth in his bid to fend off his youthful challenger.

At one time, that approach might have been a career-killer in Massachusetts Democratic politics. Yet Markey has employed it successfully to help narrow a double-digit polling gap with the primary just over two weeks away.

"It's unconventional. That's the only way to put it," said Democratic strategist Wilnelia Rivera, who advised Rep. Ayanna Pressley in 2018. "The Democratic Party in Massachusetts is the house the Kennedys built."

[hlthe2b]

1. I like Kennedy, but I really wish he hadn't run like this. That said, I can not condone Markey doing

this either. Ugly and incredibly unfortunate during this year's elections, especially. Have at it Massachusettes voters. Good luck.

[Demsrule86]

4. Markey may be overplaying his hand.

[delisen]

2. The article misleads. Markey is simply being open.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I would attack Kennedy too.